Proposition 82, which would fund preschool education for all California 4-year-olds, has inspired debate about the role of the state in early childhood development. Are public investments in preschool good for children’s educations and for their well being?.No other social program has been evaluated more than preschool education. Since the early 1960s, thousands of short- and long-term studies have been conducted across the country of many programs serving many populations. Findings have been remarkably consistent — and remarkably positive.The strongest evidence demonstrates preschool’s economic benefits. A much-discussed 2005 Rand Corp study found that a universal program of high quality for all California 4-year-olds would return to society from $2 to $4 for every dollar invested. That’s a conservative calculation.Since 1985, my colleagues and I have studied the 40-year-old Child-Parent Center, a preschool operated by the Chicago school system that was a key source of the evidence in the Rand report. Our cost-benefit analysis showed that the half-day program yielded a return of $10.15 per dollar invested.There are those who assert that the Chicago outcomes simply reflect the fact that the Child-Parent Center serves low-income children, who have the most to gain from preschool. But the good news extends far beyond one program and one income group.In Oklahoma, more than two-thirds of 4-year-olds participate in state-run universal preschools. Evaluations show that in early literacy, program participants from all socioeconomic backgrounds were seven to eight months ahead of children not in the program. a study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that high-quality child care, which included many of the elements associated with preschool, was linked to greater achievement in regular school among a sample of predominantly college-educated, middle-income families.We all know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In the same way, a dollar invested in preschool returns many more in benefits for society. If Proposition 82 passes, about 500,000 4-year-olds would be entitled to participate in early education every year in California. Unlike most other investments, the effects of their preschool experiences could last a lifetime.Excerpted from a piece by Arthur J. Reynolds in ‘Los Angeles Times’, May 24
